In this summer camp, there are no campfire songs and s'mores. Instead, these young girls will be practicing makeup techniques and working on pivots and posture. They will be studying color theory, fashion and posing for a photo shoot in a professional studio.

But this is no dysfunctional "Toddlers and Tiaras"; that story's overdone.

These students are learning how to present an image on the outside -- starting on the inside. So forget what you think you know about teen models. Forget cheesy Barbizon commercials from the early '90s.

This is Learn To Be a Model -- Roxanne Gould style.

Gould's summer modeling camp kicks off July 22 for girls ages 13-18.

Gould, of Boulder, knows a little something about modeling, as she's been doing it since age 3. She has traveled the globe in the fashion industry, gracing runways in Paris and the cover of Vogue, to name a few. She continues to model, in between coaching for the past seven years.

She coached "America's Next Top Model Winner" Nicole Fox.

She also coached Boulder teen Lexie Bader.

Lexie took a modeling course last spring when she was 15, and her transformation took her mother, Alicia Thompson, and her then-boyfriend, Scott Ohlgren, by complete surprise, they say.

Before, Lexie struggled with learning disabilities, insecurities about her body shape and also socially at school, they say. When she said she wanted to take a modeling class, they both said they were cautious; Ohlgren expected it to be a rip-off, or at best a waste of money. Her mom says she was worried about the "sharks" in the modeling industry. But Lexie was set on it, and they wanted to support her.

As a father figure, Ohlgren says, it changed his perspective, too -- on what it can mean to be a model.

"It's like a practice, because you have to maintain a certain poise, as you're doing this. In that sense, it was like martial arts," he says. "There was this insecure, torn-up girl suddenly shining from within, and I was afraid it was going to all be posed and fake. But it was just the opposite. You have to feel awesome inside to walk in front of people who are staring at what you're portraying."

Gould says that's the intention behind her teen modeling classes.

After all, she has a teenage daughter herself.

"I understand what teenagers are going through regarding their insecurities and peer and social pressure and image," Gould says. "I really want them to grow up to know they're beautiful."

The key is to develop each student's unique qualities, Gould believes. She works with them on identifying their goals, building the confidence to go after those goals and creating plans of action. She teaches about nutrition and exercise.

"It's a whole package," Gould says. "You have to look at everything when it comes to building confidence and beauty."

A model's mind is the most important factor in making or breaking her career, Gould says. She likens it to the engine that you must keep running, in order to travel to your goals. That's why you feed it with healthy fuel, in the form of good food and thoughts. Only then do you begin to polish the paint.

And that's important, Gould says, whether you end up on the runway or behind a desk.

A year and a half later, Lexie has a wide web of friends and has strong self-esteem, poise and presence -- at the most challenging and important time of her life, her mother says.

"She's able to really express and go after what she wants, which is a really amazing skill," Thompson says. "A lot of people just sort of do what they're supposed to do, go to school get good grades, but she is learning what she wants to get out of life, and how to go after it."

Lexie is a member of Roxanne's modeling agency and is building her resume. But for Thompson, it doesn't matter whether her daughter follows a modeling career to fame and fortune.

"That could be an outcome of it, but that's not what it's all about," Thompson says. "That's not really at the core of all of the benefits of it."

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